The statement in the state-run Tibet Daily newspaper called for Buddhist monks to become Chinese patriots, but activist groups said the heavy-handed techniques already employed in the campaign were inflaming tensions.

Efforts by authorities to "re-educate" monks at a monastery in Sichuan province in southwest China led to protests there on Thursday in which at least eight Tibetans were killed, the activist groups said.

China's communist rulers have been deeply angered and embarrassed over the Tibetan unrest, as it has overshadowed preparations for the Beijing Olympics and exposed other human rights issues.

Tibetans have been protesting in anger over what they say has been widespread repression under nearly six decades of Chinese rule.

In Xinjiang, a Muslim-populated region of northwest China which neighbours Tibet, there have also been protests in recent days to express similar sentiments, although not on nearly the same scale as the Tibetan unrest.

The jailing of prominent Chinese dissident Hu Jia on Thursday for subversion added to concerns around the world that the human rights situation in China was getting worse instead of better ahead of the Games.

Those concerns are expected to be magnified on Sunday when the Olympic torch passes through London, with Tibetan activists and other groups vowing to add further heat to the flame there.

In the Tibet Daily article, Tibet's deputy Communist Party chief was quoted as telling a group of influential monks that "reinforcing patriotic education" was now a top priority.

"Guide the monks so that they continue to foster the tradition of love of religion, love of the country and to hold high the banner of patriotic progress," the paper quoted Hao Peng as saying.

Hao was speaking on Thursday at the ancient Tashilumpo monastery in Shigatse, the seat of the Panchen Lama, who ranks number two in Tibetan Buddhist's hierarchy behind the Dalai Lama.

"Especially reinforce education of young monks about the legal system so that they become patriots who love religion and observe discipline and law," he said.

The International Campaign for Tibet said the re-education campaign, a tactic long used by the Communist Party, typically involved forcing Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama fled his homeland in 1959 and remains a revered figure for Tibetans, although China believes he is a dangerous figure bent on achieving independence for Tibet.

China says he is orchestrating the latest unrest, claims he denies.

Such orders to denounce the Dalai Lama helped trigger Thursday's protest in Garze county of Sichuan province, International Campaign for Tibet spokesman Kate Saunders said.

China's official Xinhua news agency reported the incident late Friday, saying police were forced to fire warning shots to quell a "riot" in which protesters attacked a government building and seriously wounded one official.

"Police were forced to fire warning shots and put down the violence, since local officials and people were in great danger," Xinhua said.

Xinhua did not give other key details in its brief dispatch, such as how many "rioters" were involved or why they had marched on the government office.

The International Campaign for Tibet, the Free Tibet Campaign and Radio Free Asia reported that police had fired directly into the protesters, killing at least eight.

The attempted re-education campaign had taken place at Tongkor monastery, which the Free Tibet Campaign said had about 370 monks.

Independently verifying what happened, as with all the unrest, is extremely difficult because China has barred foreign reporters from travelling to Tibet and the other hotspot areas and blanketed them with security.

Calls by AFP to local government offices, hospitals and religious bureaus went unanswered or were met with denials of knowing anything about the incident.

The protests began in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, last month to mark the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule, then spread to other areas of western China with Tibetan populations, including Sichuan.

China says Tibetan rioters have killed 18 civilians and two policemen. Before the latest unrest, Tibetan exiled leaders said 135-140 Tibetans had been killed in the Chinese crackdown.

earlier related report
China promotes website attacking Western media
More than a million people have "signed up" to a website petition being promoted by one of China's biggest Internet portals to criticise Western media "bias" in covering the Tibetan unrest.

The petition on Sina.com has attracted 1.19 million signatures, most of them from within China, according to its homepage on Saturday.

The appeal repeats Chinese government statements in referring to "violent crimes of beating, smashing, looting and arson" in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, last month.

"Western media organisations such as CNN and BBC have churned out untrue and distorted reports of the event. Please sign your name here to lodge your strong protest," it says.

The Chinese government has in recent weeks organised for the state press to heavily criticise the Western media over its coverage of the unrest, while denying foreign reporters access to the protest areas.

The demonstrations began in Lhasa on March 10 and escalated into the biggest challenge to China's rule of the Himalayan region in decades.

Beijing maintains that Tibetan "rioters" have killed 18 innocent civilians and two policemen.

It insists that Chinese security forces have killed no one, but Tibetan exiled groups say at least 135-140 people have died in the crackdown.

China's communist rulers strictly control the nation's press, and have ensured that the version of events given by Tibetan exiles and activists groups are either discredited or not publicised in the Chinese media.

For instance, Sina.com does not mention the exiles' death toll, nor does it refer to what many Tibetans say has been widespread repression they have suffered under nearly six decades of Chinese rule.

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